Steve Stockman
Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman and a former congressional aide were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from charitable foundations to fund campaigns and pay personal expenses.
Stockman, 60, and his former director of special projects, Jason Posey, 46, were charged with 28 criminal counts, including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, making excessive campaign contributions and money laundering.
Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez in Houston called the indictment “a very significant case” for the office in a brief statement. “The indictment returned by the grand jury today is a significant case alleging serious violations involving use of official positions for personal gain. Violations of the public trust will not be tolerated,” he said.
The case is being jointly prosecuted by the Southern District of Texas and the Washington DC-based Public Integrity Section.
Stockman also faces a charge of filing a false tax return, and Posey is charged with falsifying a sworn statement to obstruct an investigation by federal elections officials.
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Federal investigators say in the indictment that between from May 2010 and October 2014, Stockman brought in about $1.25 million in donations based on false pretenses. He then diverted nearly $285,000 donated to charitable causes to pay for his and Dodd’s personal expenses.
Stockman and Dodd also are accused of receiving $165,000 in charitable donations, which Stockman largely spent to fund his 2012 congressional campaign.
See here, here, and here for the background. Just a thought here, but defending oneself against these kinds of charges is an expensive prospect, and there were questions about how exactly Stockman was supporting himself back when he was in office. I don’t know how he’s going to pay for his lawyers, and I kind of doubt he’s going to be able to raise the money. We’ll see how it goes. The Trib has more.